Chapter 6:
Mephiles' Mayhem

Razor sighed contentedly as he sipped champagne out of the crystal glass. He leant his head back on the cushioned edge and turned up the bubbles. He was relaxing in the hot tub at the back of his own cabin after the elimination ceremony.

"Those campers really test my nerves sometimes, especially Mighty," Razor admitted aloud to his wife, Abyss, who soaked beside him.

"Shhh, baby, just let the warm water ease your troubles. We can spend the night just us two and we can worry about those campers tomorrow," Abyss soothed.

"You always know how to make me feel better," Razor mused as he moved closer to her, wrapping his hand around her waist as he pulled her close and crashed his lips against hers. However, before the two could enjoy themselves any further a dark tone rang from Razor's phone.

"Is that?" Abyss began to ask but Razor immediately pulled away and scrambled to answer his phone. There was only one person who he assigned that particular ringtone to.

"Hello sir, it's Razor," Razor answered to the head of the network, Maximillian Acorn.

"Razor, there's a problem," Maximillian answered gruffly. "I need both you and Abyss to come back to the mainland and report to the other network heads about Outlast."

"What's wrong with the show? Are we underperforming? I've been keeping up with the ratings and we seem to be gathering quite the audience."

"I said report to headquarters. The meeting is ten sharp."

"But there's no way we can make it unless we leave now," Razor complained.

"Then leave now." Before Razor could say anymore Maximillian had hung up. Razor groaned, pinched the bridge of his nose and hopped out of the hot tub, much to Abyss' annoyance.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to leave now. Pack your bags, the campers can just have a day off. Tell Zonic to give them a break," Razor instructed as he hurried to his room to pack. Meanwhile, a silhouette moved from the window and rushed back into the shadows of the forest.

"Sometimes it's just too easy," Mephiles chuckled as he pocketed his phone, mimicking Maximilian's voice perfectly.


The sun hung low in the sky, deep oranges and yellows split the salmon sky as the bottom of the sphere kissed the blue horizon. Silver ran down the sandy path with wooden logs acting as make-shift sticks carrying a plastic bag full of snacks. He waded out into knee deep water in his black and yellow board shorts, rolled onto his back and held the bag high over his head as he awkwardly swam to the floating barge about twenty meters from shore. The floating barge was large enough to comfortably sit sixteen people as was chained to iron weights on the seafloor.

"And Silver delivers!" Mighty cheered happily as he helped the hedgehog climb the thin ladder onto the barge.

"What did you bring us?" Rouge asked as he dumped the contents onto the cement floor.

"I snagged them from the cafeteria. Zonic almost caught me," Silver regaled as he showed off his stash. There were packets of chips, blocks of chocolate, packets of lollies and a few bottles of soda.

"You're the best, Sil," Sonic smiled as he twisted open the bottle of coke and drank eagerly.

"Hey, share it around," Knuckles growled as he snatched the bottle and took a swig himself.

"Guys, don't fight, there's enough for everybody," Fiona assured as Shade and Sticks fought over one of the blocks of chocolate.

"Would you like a snake?" Charmy offered nicely as Amy graciously accepted.

"I forgot what good food tastes like," Amy moaned.

"Thanks for this, Silver. You've really out done yourself," Blaze complimented as she scooted closer to him. He tried to hide the red tinge that crept over his muzzle as he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth.

"So," Mighty asked after the eleven remaining contestants continued to indulge themselves. "Why do you think Razor gave us the day off. I'm surprised he let us hang out at the beach all day."

"Yeah," Shade nodded as she crunched down on some chocolate. "Usually he's trying to break our spirits or kill us in some insanely dumb challenge."

"Well, let's not waist the opportunity," Amy suggested.

"I agree. Let's just enjoy the rest of our ti-"

"In that case… cannon ball!" Sticks bellowed, interrupting Blaze's train of thought.


Fiona: Sticks is getting on my last nerve.

Silver: I think getting the snacks earned me some bonus points with Blaze. Yes!

Mighty: Today was great. I wish Razor would mysteriously disappear more often. It's nice not having somebody yell at you all the time.


The night was dark, and light clouds had rolled overhead to obscure the view of the stars. The campers all lounged around the great bonfire that they had lit, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores as they laughed when suddenly the snap of a twig alerted their attention.

"D-did you guys hear that?" Charmy shook.

"Don't be such a baby. It was probably just a bird," Shade snapped.

"That doesn't look like any bird I've seen," Mighty muttered as he pointed at the shadowy silhouette of a hedgehog.

"Aliens!" Sticks shrieked.

"It's Mephiles!" Fiona shrieked, pretending to be utterly petrified.

"Wait, wait, wait," Mephiles called with raised arms as he stepped out from behind the tree. "I'm not here to capture you. That was just my role in the challenge."

"A likely story," Shade remained sceptical.

"It's true. Now, some of you might be wondering where Razor is."

"What did you do to him?" Mighty asked.

"He had to go talk to the head of the network about the show so he asked me to run the challenge in his place."

"And you expect us to believe you?" Mighty continued.

"Yes, because, you see, I'm actually Razor's cousin."

"And we should believe you because?"

"Chaos, Mighty, shut up! Raz was right you are so incredibly annoying I understand why he can't stand you."

"Yep. He's definitely related to Razor," Sonic chuckled as he patted the saddened hedgehog on the back.

"I've waited until now because the challenge I've devised is simple. It's a quiz show of sorts. I figured it would be nice to do it at night around the campfire for some extra ambiance," Mephiles smiled.

"Wow, that's a cool idea," Blaze grinned.

"Yeah, why can't Razor be as nice as you," Knuckles said.

"Without further ado, let me get to the rules," Mephiles began. "They are simple; I'll ask a riddle and whoever can guess the answer correctly can eliminate somebody from the other team. Last person standing wins the challenge for their team. However, if you get the answer wrong, you are eliminated. So don't guess if you aren't absolutely sure. Does that make sense?"

"Yep."

"Alright, let's get started."


Blaze: I could get used to Mephiles hosting.

Amy: He's so much better than Razor.

Sticks: He might have the others fooled, but not me. I'm on to your game, zombie. You just want to lull us into a false sense of security before BAM, you're eating our brains. Nice try, but I'm not going to let my guard down.


The flames of the raging fire danced through the air as Mephiles lent against the lectern and flicked through some cue cards deciding which question he would start with.

"Alright," Mephiles smiled as he picked out a card. "We'll start with an easy one," he turned to smile at the camera, "and you at home can play along too. Let us know how many you got right! Bet you can't beat me."

"God, he's got a bigger ego Razor," Rouge whispered.

"I thought he was going to be better," Amy nodded in reply.

"First question. My son has as many sisters as brothers, but each sister only has half as many sisters as she has brothers. How many kids do I have?"

"Oh, I know this," Silver shot his hand up high. "This is easy. You have four brothers and three sisters."

"That's correct," Mephiles beamed as he tossed the card into the fire and watched it burst into flames. "Who would you like to eliminate?"

"Sorry Mighty, but you're gone."

"Mighty is out. Please go sit on the loser bench over there."

"But there's nothing there," Might scratched his head as Mephiles pointed to thin air.

"On the contrary. I had the liberty to draw a rudimentary bench in the sand. Just squat there until the game's over," Mephiles chuckled. With a grunt, Mighty sat down in the rectangle outlined in the sand. The rest of the islanders laughed as he grumbled something under his breath.


Mighty: I never thought I'd say this… but I miss Razor.


"Next question! What gets wetter as it dries?"

"Oh, this is easy," Charmy spoke up, ready to show his team that he can help contribute in challenges when it counts. "Water."

"What? Water? How does water dry? It can literally only make things wet… Go join Mighty in the loser's bench," Mephiles shook his head.

"Idiot," Shade hissed under her breath as Charmy dejectedly sidled over to Mighty with sagged shoulders.

"Hey, don't worry, it was a good effort," Mighty tried to comfort him.

"No talking on the loser's bench," Mephiles bellowed as he picked up a bit of sand and hurled it at Mighty.

"Hey, what was that for?" Mighty was responded by another wad of sand thrown in his face. "Alright, alright, I'll be quiet."

"Same question," Mephiles ignored the indignant armadillo and turned back to the remaining nine competitors.

"A towel," Knuckles stated proudly. "And I'd like to eliminate Silver."

"Silver, off you go."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Silver grumbled.

"Next question," Mephiles continued. "He who builds it does not want it. He who buys it does not use it. He who needs it does not know it. What is it?"

"A coffin," Knuckles answered again.

"Two in a row. Who would you like to eliminate?"

"Fiona."


Knuckles: What? My mother used to give me these lateral thinking puzzles all the time as a kid, so I got good and thinking outside the box.

Shade: Who knew Red had a brain in there?


"Next question! When it's spoken, it's broken. What is it?"

"That's easy, it's-" Knuckles began but was instantly cut off.

"Silence," Blaze shouted over the top of him.

"Hey, but I started speaking first."

"But Blaze answered first," Mephiles smirked. "So Blaze, who are you going to eliminate?"

"Knuckles, obviously."


Knuckles: Well that's just not even fair.


"Another question! I'm a word that's hardly there. Take away my start and I'm an herbal flair. What am I?"

"I think I know," Sonic piped up when moments passed where nobody spoke. "Parsley is an herbal flair, and if you add its start, S, you get sparsely which means something that is hardly there."

"Correct!"

"Hang on. Sparsely without an S doesn't spell parsley though," Rouge complained.

"And yet I'm the one that makes the rules. I say he's correct," Mephiles interrupted Rouge.

"And for that, I think I'll eliminate Rouge," Sonic smirked wickedly as Rouge huffed and made her way over to join the others in the sand.

"I hope you don't expect me to squat in the sand. Ouch!" Rouge yelped as sand flew at her face, barely missing her. "Alright, fine!"

"On to the next question!" Mephiles continued to ask riddle after riddle until the campers continued to eliminate themselves. Blaze eliminated Sonic, Amy eliminated herself with an exceptionally stupid answer and Shade got revenge by eliminating Blaze until the final two contestants remained.

"Shade and Sticks, this is the final question," Mephiles smiled.

"Just give me the win already. This couldn't be anymore unfair," Shade smirked as she studied her competitor, Sticks.

"Alright, the final question. Pay attention now, it's a long one. You are doing a placement course in a lab located on the peak of a tall mountain studying mutations when suddenly hell breaks loose, and the infected test subjects escape and try to eat you. You, the lab technician, the janitor and the old lab professor escape and get to a bridge that crosses a gorge. The bridge is so old that it can only hold the weight of two people."

"Slow down, I need to write this down," Shade complained as she grabbed a stick and began making notes in the sand.

"It takes the professor ten minutes to cross, the janitor five minutes to cross, the lab technician two minutes across and you can sprint across in one minute. By the professor's calculations, the infected will get to the bridge in seventeen minutes. If you aren't all across on the other side to cross the bridge before seventeen minutes, they will have caught you, or collapsed the bridge."

"This is easy. Just go two at a time and get across in like twelve minutes."

"I haven't finished," Mephiles smiled. "It's so dark and you can't cross the bridge without the lantern. Anybody can hold the lantern, but nobody can cross the bridge without it. How do you cross?"

"Oh, alright, let me think," Shade ducked her head and began scribbling notes in the sand, adding up numbers and calculating speeds when suddenly Sticks spoke up.

"This is easy," Sticks beamed.

"Oh no, we're doomed," Rouge rolled her eyes.

"This should be interesting," Mephiles grinned. "What is the answer."

"You and the lab tech run across first in two minutes. Then, you run back in one minute, meaning three minutes have gone by. You then give the lantern to the professor and he and the janitor cross, taking ten minutes. You then have four minutes left. The lab tech runs back across with the lantern, taking two minutes, and you both then run back across to safety in the remaining two minutes. Cut the bridge and save the world."

"Wow… that's… that's correct," Mephiles gasped.

"What? But how? You're an idiot?" Shade growled. "She must have cheated."

"No, I'm just prepared. The zombie apocalypse is a serious thing and you've got to be prepared. Do you think I haven't done my weak bridge over a ravine in pitch blackness with only a lantern training exercises?" Sticks responded with hands on her hips.

"Go Sticks!" the Golden Rings all cheered as they rushed up and hoisted her off the ground in celebration. Shade shared dejected looks with her team as they watched the rings carry sticks off the beach and back up to the cabins.

"Chaos Emeralds don't go anywhere. We're about to do the elimination ceremony," Mephiles bellowed.


Mighty: Well… that sucked.

Shade: She was kidding right? She hadn't trained for that exact scenario, right? Surely not… right?

Blaze: Wow… didn't think Sticks could do it. And thanks to her, Silver is safe for another day, so I guess I owe her my thanks.

Silver: Was honestly ready to pack my bags then and there. So glad Sticks pulled through and I get to spend another day with Blaze… I mean on the island!

Sticks: I don't get why everybody was so surprised. Zombies always take seventeen minutes to go anywhere. It's simple escape planning one-oh-one.


"We are so screwed," Sonic whispered to Mighty as the two sat on one side of the logs. Knuckles, Shade and Charmy all sat on the opposite side, as far away from Mighty and Sonic as possible as they discussed something in private.

"I think they are deciding which one of us we should vote out," Mighty sighed.

"I still can't believe Charmy is siding with them."

"Should I try to talk to him?" Mighty suggested.

"I don't know what good it would do," Sonic shook his head. "Both Espio and I have already tried but Shade seems to have her wrapped around her little finger pretty tightly. "But I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Alright, that's enough talking. Time to vote," Mephiles announced as he finished picking some food out of his teeth. "Charmy, you're the first to vote. Please, make your way to the lifeguard tower to vote."

As Charmy got up and made his way over to the confessional which doubled as the voting booth Mighty raced after him. Mighty waited until he was sure they were out of earshot from both Shade and Knuckles.

"Mighty? Why are you following me?" Charmy asked.

"I wanted to talk to you away from both Knuckles and Shade," Mighty admitted. "Why are you voting with them, dude? Shade isn't a good person, why would you ally yourselves with them?"

"She isn't as bad as she appears. Sure, she's a bit full on but she cares about me. She's protected me at every vote so far," Charmy defended her.

"But you've never been in danger of being voted off."

"Espio tried to vote me off," Charmy countered.

"What are you talking about? He was just trying to be your friend."

"You see, this is why I'm on her side. She doesn't lie. She might be rude, but there are no secrets with Shade. What you see is what you get."

"Charmy, she'll just toss you aside as soon as you've expended your usage to her."

"Mighty, I appreciate what you're saying but I'm voting with her tonight. I'll vote for Sonic and I'll try to convince Shade and Knuckles to do the same because you've always been a good friend to me. You're probably the nicest player on the island so I'd hate to see you go. Good luck," Charmy concluded before he walked up the lifeguard tower and shut the door before Mighty could get in another word.

"Sonic isn't going to like this," Mighty sighed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and trudged back to the illuminating glow of the raging bonfire.


Knuckles: We talked with Charmy and we decided you've got to go. No offence, dude. You played a good game, but I need to look out for number one.

Charmy: Sorry Sonic but I can't betray Shade.

Sonic: Looks like my fate is in Shade's hands. Now that's a scary thought.

Mighty: This sucks.

Shade: This game is just too easy.


"Alright, I've always wanted to do this," Mephiles beamed as he retrieved the plate full of four strawberries. "You have all cast your votes and made your decisions. In front of me there are five losers but only four strawberries. When I say your name, step up and take your strawberry."

"We all know how this works," Mighty rolled his eyes impatiently.

"Don't rob me of the dramatic tension! Ahem, the first strawberry goes to Knuckles. The next two go to both Charmy and Sonic."

"Sonic? But I thought you guys said I was right and you were going to vote off Sonic with me," Charmy complained aloud.

"We did say that, but we thought about it a little more and it doesn't make sense. Sonic is way faster and has proven to be better at challenges. Mighty might be smarter but he was the first out in the brain challenge so really it makes more sense to vote him off," Shade answered.

"But I voted for Sonic…"

"And that means-" Mighty began hopefully when Mephiles interrupted him.

"Yes, okay, that means that it's a tie. You both received two votes each."

"So, what are you going to do?" Shade asked.

"Well, I'm not really sure. But-" Mephiles began but was cut off by a loud, eccentric voice that boomed from the path back to the cabins.

"But you won't have to make that decision," Razor bellowed as he rushed up and snatched the two strawberries from Mephiles.

"Razor?!"

"That was a sneaky trick you tried to pull on me cousin, but did you really think it would fool me?" Razor asked.

"It only needed to fool you long enough for me to prove to Maximillian Acorn that I deserve to be the host and not you," Mephiles growled back in agitation.

"I thought you wanted to be a contestant?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't let me, remember?"

"Yes, I do," Razor smiled. "And because of this trick, you won't have any chance in any possible future seasons. With that, I've spoken to Max and he says I can do whatever I want to you. He didn't appreciate your little stunt so early in the season."

"C'mon, Razor, don't do anything drastic," Mephiles backed away slowly.

"You have five seconds to run and then I'm sending Zonic after you."

"But Cuz…"

"Five, four, three," Razor counted loudly. Mephiles took one look at the Chaos Emerald's confused faces before he turned and fled back into the dense woods of Treacherous Isle. Razor straightened his shirt and turned back to the contestants. "Good, now that that's settled, let's decide who's going home."

"Good, because Shade and I received the same number of votes so we need a tie breaker," Mighty announced.

"God, Mighty, I know. You don't need to spell out every damn thing that happens. You are so annoying. In fact, you know what? I'm sick of you. Shade, you get the last strawberry. Mighty, you're gone."

"You can't do that!" Mighty protested. "That's unfair."

"Okay, fine. The tiebreaker is a race. First one to touch the lifeguard tower and come back to get the strawberry is the winner. Ready-set-go," Razor said quickly. Before Mighty could comprehend what was happening Shade had already sped off to the lifeguard tower and was almost back. Mighty sighed, accepting his defeat when she slid to a stop, sand billowing behind her.

"I win," Shade announced happily.

"And to the victor go the spoils," Razor grinned as he handed Shade her strawberry. "And with that, I never thought I'd say this, but Mighty is eliminated," Razor cheered.

"Charmy," Mighty turned to the bee. "See what I was talking about. They completely ignored what you said and voted against you. They are just using you."

"Enough chatter, you need to go," Razor stepped between Mighty and the rest of the team before Charmy could reply. "Leave!" Mighty sighed and made the slow walk down to the yellow dingy where Blade awaited to take him to the Submarine of Shame.

"Wait," Sonic called as he raced up to the raft just as Blade pushed her oar into the sand and began to paddle out to see.

"Sonic?"

"I'll take them down for you," Sonic nodded as he held out his fist. Mighty glanced at his fist and the smiled.

"Give them hell," Mighty nodded as he bumped his fist against Sonic. Sonic watched in disappointment, Charmy is doubt and Shade in happiness as Mighty climbed aboard the submarine and it dipped below the water.

"And with that Mighty is finally gone," Razor applauded happily. "I never thought I'd say that. It's like music to my ears. Anyway, with Mephiles finally gone I'm back and I promise there won't be any delays like that again. With only four people left and each member at each other's throats, the Chaos Emeralds look ready to fold. Can they win or will the flunky foursome turn into the tiring threesome? Find out next time on Outlast: Insanity Island!"


The moon was low in the sky and the owls readied themselves for bed, retiring the calls to the early morning rooster that readied his morning call. Mephiles stepped out of the forest on the far end of the island and watched as a small speed boat raced to the shore.

"If I can't be a contestant or the host of the show then I'll just have to cancel it," Mephiles grumbled as his eyes were fixed on the figure of somebody standing on the bow of the boat.

"Hey man," the figure jumped off the boat and walked up to Mephiles. "I'm glad you called me. When I heard about your plan to cancel the show how could I refuse?"

"I'm glad you came," Mephiles nodded to his best friend, "Shadow."


A/N: A lot of you thought that Mighty was going to go far in this game but I'm trying nothing if not dramatic. I can't make it too predictable. Besides, Razor hated Mighty so much there was no way he could have dealt with him forever. With Mighty gone, Charmy is torn on whether he should continue to side with Shade or switch sides and help Sonic take her down. Meanwhile, Silver and Blaze are nervous because they both know a loss for their team is an elimination for Silver. Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you thought.

16th: Big the Cat
15th: Cream the Rabbit
14th: Vector the Crocodile
13th: Miles 'Tails' Prower
12th: Espio the Chameleon
11th: Mighty the Armadillo

Final 10: Sonic, Shade, Charmy, Knuckles, Blaze, Amy, Rouge, Fiona, Sticks and Silver.